Great Alaska Shootout vote postponed by NCAA board

Posted: Friday, April 27, 2001

By The ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA Board of Directors on Thursday postponed for nearly three years a vote on a proposal that might have spelled the end of the Great Alaska Shootout and the Top of the World Classic basketball tournaments.

The board also delayed action on other several proposals from the NCAA's Management Council, including one that would allow athletes to receive money for giving private lessons and to obtain a one-time $20,000 bank loan based on future earnings.

The management council recommended earlier this year that the board eliminate a special exemption allowing tournaments in Alaska and other remote places to attract top teams. The exemption allows teams to play three tournament games in those places with only one of the games counting toward their season limit.

"This is just a big break for us," said Nate Sagan, sports information director for the University of Alaska Anchorage. "As it is we can rest easy for a few more years."

The management council suggested boosting the season limit for Division I teams to 29 games from the current 28 while removing the tourney exemption.

"The board is very interested in putting a limit on the number of contests Division I teams can play," said William E. Kirwan, chairman of the Division I board of directors and president of Ohio State University. "However, the board had significant concerns about the legislation as it came to us, and we want to give some time for study of all the ramifications."